Chapter 2: Utah’s Geology

Natural Forces Shape the Land of Utah

This is a no gum class.

Bell Activity



Please dispose of it properly!

Define “fracture” and “fault” in your study guide.

 Find the word on your study guide and complete the following information for the word.

 Find the definition using a glossary.

 Use your own knowledge and experience to complete the rest of the definition.

 Then work on your dinosaur reading from yesterday, and answer questions 6-8 on your study guide.



Where should your backpack be?

word

:

Does your work look something

fracture

like this?

My Understanding: 4

3 2 1

Definition

:

Draw a picture of it: Sentence

:

Synonym/ Example

:

Antonym/Non Example:

word

:

Does your work look something

fracture

like this?

My Understanding: 4

3 2 1

Definition

: a broken surface or crack

Draw a picture of it: Sentence

: The fracture in the earth showed where the fault was located.

Synonym/ Example

: break, crack; fault

Antonym/Non Example:

solid, unbroken

word

:

Does your work look something

fault

like this?

My Understanding: 4

3 2 1

Definition

:

Draw a picture of it: Sentence

:

Synonym/ Example

:

Antonym/Non Example:

word

:

Does your work look something

fault

like this?

My Understanding: 4

3 2 1

Definition

: a fracture in the Earth’s surface

Draw a picture of it: Sentence

: The fault generated a large earthquake that caused considerable damage.

Synonym/ Example

: break; Wasatch, San Andreas

Antonym/Non Example:

solid, unbroken

This is a no gum class. Please dispose of it properly!

Bell Activity

 Read page 34-35 in your textbook.  Answer questions 11-18 on your study guide.

 If you finish early, work on other questions in the study guide.

 The test is four school days away! Get the Study Guide done!!



Where should your backpack be?

Today we will be learning about…

 Social Studies Objective – We will be able to identify and describe the natural processes that have shaped Utah.

 Language Objective – We will be able to use what we learn to write an outline for an essay.

 Behavior Objective – Work Ethic: We will stay on task and complete our work.

Natural Forces Shape Utah

Mountain Building Faults Volcanoes Erosion

Name Hour Date Mountain Building Natural Forces Shape Utah Volcanoes

Our Environment has been shaped & continues to be shaped by natural forces.

Mountain Building

 How were the mountains we see here in Logan created?

– They began to be created in the late Mesozoic era and early part of the Cenozoic era.

– Plate movements have created forces that changed the land and created mountains.

Plates moving together

 The Atlantic and Pacific plates are in continual movement.

 When they push together they can create mountains.

 Other plates around the world do this too.

Mountain Ranges in Utah

  Many of our mountains are new, in geologic time.

The Uinta’s are much older. – Do you notice anything unusual about the Uinta’s when you compare them to the other ranges in Utah?

Mountain Building

The Rocky Mountains are unusual. They were not created in the typical way.

The Rockies Video

Faults shape the earth

 Where plates create stress in the Earth’s surface, the crust can break.

 Faults are fractures in the Earth’s surface.

– They are often where there are mountains.

There are three basic types of faults.

 Three types of Faults animation  Strike-slip faults  Normal faults  Reverse faults

Logan is also located near a fault

 Cache Valley is a special kind of valley/basin created by a normal fault. This special landform is called a graben. Grabens & Horsts

Utah’s Faults

 90% of Utah’s population live on a fault line.

 Earthquakes occur where there are fault lines.

 Earthquake safety is an important thing to talk about at school and at home.

Did you know that Utah has all three types of volcanoes?

Three Main Types of Volcanoes *

The three main types of volcanoes differ in shape, size, and make-up; the differences partly result from the different types of eruptions.

Volcano Type Volcano Shape Volcano Size Volcano Materials Eruption Type Utah Example

Cinder Cone Steep conical hill with straight sides Small less than 300m high cinders Explosive Diamond Cinder Cone, Washington County Shield Volcano Very gentle slopes; convex upward (shaped like a warrior’s shield) Large over 10s of kms across fluid lava flows (basalt) Quiet Cedar Hill, Box Elder County Stratovolcano Gentle lower slopes, but steep upper slopes; concave upward Large 1-10 km in diameter numerous layers of lava and pyroclastics Explosive Mount Belknap, Tushar Mountains, Paiute County

Utah’s volcanoes are so old they are hard to see.

Shield Volcano - Cedar Hill, located north of Great Salt Lake, bears a resemblance to several Haw aiian shield volcanoes. The volcano i s approximately 1,150,000 years old. Cinder Cone - Diamond Cinder Cone is one of several cinde r cones near St. George in Washington County, Utah. The cone is approxi mately 27,000 years old. The Tushar Mountains in Central Utah are stratovolcanoes.

Volcanoes in Utah

 Volcanoes have played a role in Utah’s past. They also influence our economics in Utah.

 Volcanoes bring minerals to the surface of the earth that can be mined.

Some types of natural resources are brought to the surface by these forces.

 Gems stones are formed deep beneath the earth. They are brought to the surface through volcanic activity.

 Other minerals are also brought to the surface in this way.

– This is why Kennecott Mine, in the Oquirrh Mountains, has copper.

Want to have a fun and profitable weekend? Try visiting Topaz Mountain!

Bixbyite Topaz

Topaz Mountain

Wearing away the mountains

 Utah has also been shaped by other forces, such as wind, water, & ice.

 These forces create weathering and erosion that reshape mountains, valleys, and our environment.

Other types of minerals were created by other natural forces.

 Coal  Oil Shale ( Fossil fuel clip )  Salt  Building stones (marble, granite, quartz, etc.)  Gravel & sand (left behind by Lake Bonneville)

What do you think?

 What are some of the environmental issues associated with mining and refining of minerals?  What are some ways these problems can be solved?

 What if the problem can’t be solved easily or cheaply? What then should people do?

Utah is an environment shaped by many natural forces.

Essay practice: Let’s use what we have just learned to create an essay outline.

How do natural forces shape our environment?

Main Idea Utah has been and is shaped in many ways by different natural forces.

(What are some of the things we have talked about that have changed Utah's environment?) Plate movement (Examples?) Water (Examples?) ?

?

?

?

Wind (Examples?) ?

?

Then close your paragraph by restating your main idea.

Truly, Utah's landscape has been shaped by many natural forces.

Now try it for yourself.

How have discoveries made in Utah improved our understanding of dinosaurs in the past and in the present?

Main Idea?

Think about the things that we talked about when we learned about dinosaurs in class.

Today you can use the organizer you made to help you find some facts quickly.

Utah's dino past?

Significance?

Utah's dino present?

Significance?

Conclusion?

W hy does Utah matter?